Proposal
by SpiritsAndFrogs
Summary: Karkat finally decides to tell Terezi what he's always wanted to, but in a rather, different way. He asks John to help him try the human way of getting a matesprit, and things don't go quite as planned. Karezi oneshot. Hooray for first fic!


**A/N: **Woo, first fic! Karezi is one of my biggest OTPs and I had this idea in my head for a while, so I just had to write it. I think it came out pretty well! Enjoy!

_Psst, let's say John never forgot the PDA in the wallet and was able to contact people while crossing the Yellow Yard, okay?_

* * *

Karkat sighed, frustrated. He had been thinking about this for a long, long time. There were so many possibilities to consider; what if she said no? He shouldn't be thinking about that, not now. He needed to talk to John. Today was the day.

Though he'd never admit it, Karkat had always admired the ways humans proposed a matespritship to their partners. It was much different than the way trolls did it. Much more...romantic. With the rings and kneeling and whatever, he thought Terezi might like it; sometimes she enjoys the little romantic things. He figured John would know more about it than he did, there's sure to be some proposing in his shitty movies.

He left his respiteblock and transportalized to the computer lab. He looked around the room, just to make sure no one would see his conversation, but the room was empty. Everyone was elsewhere doing their own thing. As he logged on to his computer went over how he was going to start the conversation out. 'HEY JOHN, I NEED YOUR HELP' no way, that sounds too desperate. Karkat _was_ desperate for help on this, but he wasn't going to show it. 'JOHN, CAN YOU USE YOUR THINK PAN FOR ONCE AND GIVE ME SOME ADVICE ON SOMETHING?' That's a bit better.

Karkat opened Trollian and started to pester John. Whatever he had just planned to say went right out the window, as he became increasingly nervous about the ordeal.

**- carcinoGeneticist ****[CG] ****began trolling ectoBiologist**** [EB]**** –-**

**CG: EGBERT DROP WHATEVER POINTLESS SHIT YOU'RE DOING I NEED SOME HELP **

**CG: NOT THAT YOU'LL BE MUCH **

**CG: BUT YOU CAN'T BE ENTIRELY USELESS **

**EB: oh hey karkat!**

**EB: what do you need help with?**

**CG: ROMANCE**

**EB: uh, i don't really know much about your troll romance and your kisme-whatevers**

**CG: WAIT FUCK NOT LIKE THAT**

**CG: HUMAN ROMANCE, TELL ME WHAT YOU DO**

**CG: WITH THE RINGS AND SHIT COME ON JOHN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT HERE**

**EB: oh! you mean like wedding proposals?**

**EB: hehehehe, why would you need to know about that? **

**CG: I WOULD DENY WHAT YOU'RE IMPLYING BUT IT IS LITERALLY EXACTLY WHAT YOU THINK**

**EB: really? hehe, who's the lucky troll?**

**CG: THIS REALLY ISN'T ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS**

**CG: BUT, THIS MAY HAVE TO DO WITH A SPECIFIC CRAZY, JUSTICE-OBSESSED GIRL**

**CG: FUCK WHAT AM I SAYING**

**CG: I NEVER SAID THAT, OKAY?**

**CG: KEEP YOUR FUCKING MOUTH SHUT EGBERT**

**EB: wait, terezi? i knew you guys were a thing!**

**CG: WE'RE NOT A THING**

**CG: NOT YET, KIND OF**

**CG: THINGS ARE COMPLICATED**

**CG: OH GOD HOW DID WE GET OFF ON THIS FUCKING TANGENT DAMMIT JOHN I NEED YOU TO EXPLAIN YOUR HUMAN ROMANCE RITUALS**

**EB: oh, sorry! **

**EB: it's pretty simple, though.**

**EB: basically you get a ring, and you get down on one knee and ask her to marry you**

**EB: then there's a wedding ceremony, where there's a lot of food and dancing**

**CG: THAT SOUNDS**

**CG: ROMANTIC, OR AT LEAST BETTER THAN WHAT TROLLS DO**

**EB: hmm, i guess so.**

**CG: SO I NEED A RING, HUH?**

**EB: yep! it's usually a diamond ring.**

**CG: I'M GONNA ASSUME THAT'S AN EARTH MINERAL**

**CG: NOW HOW AM I GONNA GET THAT?**

**EB: actually, I could get jade to use her modus to get a ghost imprint, and I can send you the code**

**EB: that might actually work!**

**CG: I THINK THERE'S A TOTEM LATHE AND ALCHEMITER SOMEWHERE IN THIS PLACE**

**CG: I'LL FIND THEM**

**EB: okay! i'll talk to jade, so that she can draw up a ghost imprint of the ring**

**EB: oh gosh, this is going to be so cute! am I invited to the troll wedding? hehehe**

**CG: YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE AHEAD OF YOUR FUCKING SELF, JOHN**

**CG: I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF SHE'LL SAY YES**

**EB: i don't think you should worry too much about that, karkat.**

**EB: well, im gonna go talk to jade!**

**- ectoBiologist**** [EB]**** ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist ****[CG]****–-**

Karkat sighed. What in the world did John mean by that? He's usually straightforward, but that sure as hell was not.

He read over the conversation and groaned. He had said a little too much. But sometimes it was so hard to stop talking about her once he started. At least it was John, who can keep a secret. Any other person and he'd be screwed. It's a miracle he hasn't blabbed about her more than that, but he doesn't really trust many other people to even bring it up.

But things were working out! The ritual itself is surprisingly simple, but it just sounds so romantic! If everything goes well, this could be just like a sweet scene from one of his favorite romcoms. Karkat smiled to himself at the thought.

John put the PDA in his pocket and got up to look for Jade. This is going to be so cute! Too bad he won't be able to see it. The fact that Karkat trusted John enough to ask him for advice made him smile. Now he had to show him his trust wasn't misplaced.

He found Jade curled up taking a nap on the floor in one of the many rooms of the Prospit ship. She looked so peaceful, he didn't want to wake her. Maybe later, he decided, but only a few moments later he heard a soft yawn escaping her mouth.

"…John?" she said, still groggy from sleep. "Oh, Jade! You're awake!" John stepped towards her and leaned over. Jade sat up on the floor and yawned again, her mouth wide. "Did you need something?"

"Actually, I do" John started. "I just need you to draw up a ghost imprint of something with your modus." Jade pulled out the Scribblepad and readied the tablet pen. "Sure! What do you want me to draw?" John hesitated; this was going to be a weird thing to ask. "Could you draw an, uh, diamond ring? Like an engagement ring?" Jade looked at him curiously. "What would you need an engagement ring for?" "It's for Karkat, he asked me to get it for him." Jade still looked a bit confused, but she shook her head and shrugged and started to draw.

It only took her a few minutes to draw the ring, as the modus didn't call for an incredibly detailed-or even well drawn- drawing. She finished drawing and waited for the modus to process it. A ghost image of the item appeared on an empty Captchalogue card in Jade's sylladex. Jade selected it, the card appearing in her hand. She looked at the gray image on the card and frowned. "Uh, that's not an engagement ring." She looked back at John, waiting for his response.

"Hmm," John looked at the card. This could still work out; Karkat didn't even know what a diamond was anyway. I mean, it's still a _ring, _just not a diamond one. "That's okay! This'll work just fine." He took the card from Jade and smiled. "Thanks!" he started back towards his room on the ship. "Um, no problem?" Jade called after him, sounding more like a question than a response.

He reached his room and sat down on the floor, pulling out his PDA. He was super excited to tell Karkat! It wasn't _exactly _what he wanted, but it would definitely work.

**- ectoBiologist**** [EB]****began pestering carcinoGeneticist ****[CG]****–-**

**EB: karkat!**

**EB: i've got the code!**

**CG: THAT WAS PRETTY QUICK**

**EB: well i kinda woke jade up from her dog nap**

**EB: which I feel bad for cause she looked so peaceful**

**EB: but she drew it up for me really quick **

**EB: and, well uh, here's the code**

**EB: c7RnqP9p**

**CG: OKAY, I'LL TAKE THAT TO THE ALCHEMY ROOM AND ALCHEMIZE IT**

**EB: okay!**

**CG: HEY JOHN**

**EB: yeah?**

**CG: THANKS**

**- carcinoGeneticist ****[CG]**** ceased trolling ectoBiologist**** [EB]****–-**

Wow, John sure did get that thing done fast. He was grateful for John being there and doing this for him. He felt a small twinge of regret for acting like such an ass to him early on. At least John forgave him. Karkat grabbed a spare pen and wrote the code on his hand, making a mental note to wash it off right after he had used it. He got up and headed toward the alchemy room.

The alchemy room was large, filled with everything needed to alchemize anything you could dream of. Karkat was glad this hideout was well equipped. He glanced at the code on his hand and walked towards the Punch Designix. Shit, he needed a blank Captchalogue card. He was sure he didn't have one on him, and even if he did he was not going to use his modus to retrieve it. The Encryption modus can be such a pain in the ass. It's an alchemy lab, there's gotta be a blank card laying around.

He looked up at the Punch Designix to see it was already pre-loaded with a blank card. All that fuss for nothing, ugh. Karkat has been rather edgy ever since he thought up this whole thing. It's been the only thing on his mind and he's fusses over every detail. He was starting to annoy himself, unsurprisingly, but he couldn't help it.

He input the code into the Punch Designix and grabbed the punched card once it finished. He walked over to the Totem Lathe, placed the punched card in the slot, and let it do its thing. Lastly, he put the carved totem on the pedestal of the Alchemiter and pressed a button. He can only imagine what a diamond ring looks like. Shiny, sparkly and beautiful. He wondered what color it'd be; oh, how perfect would it be if it was red! Karkat usually wasn't one to get so excited over material things, but this was different. This was for Terezi.

What appeared on the Alchemiter was not at all what he was expecting. It was not shiny or sparkly in the slightest. It _was_ red, though. Red and teal, actually. I guess that's a plus. The "gem" that didn't really look like a gem was red and transparent. So much so that you could easily see the plastic teal peg that kept it on the rest of the ring. The "gem" was attached to a teal, plastic circular base connected to the top of the ring.

Karkat carefully took the ring and headed back to the computer lab, armed with a plethora of questions for John.

**- carcinoGeneticist ****[CG] ****began trolling ectoBiologist**** [EB]**** –-**

**CG: JOHN WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING**

**CG: IS THIS A DIAMOND**

**CG: WHY IS IT MADE OUT OF PLASTIC**

**CG: THIS "DIAMOND" LOOKS ALMOST EDIBLE**

**CG: AND SMELLS LIKE CHERRIES**

**CG: DO YOU HUMANS SCENT YOUR PRECIOUS GEMSTONES OR SOME SHIT?**

**EB: oh hey!**

**EB: well it's not exactly a diamond…heh**

**CG: OKAY THEN WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS **

**EB: it's called a ring pop!**

**EB: it's like a candy ring**

**EB: jade's modus didn't recognize her drawing as an engagement ring and we got this instead**

**EB: but you can eat it!**

**EB: and dave told me something once about terezi liking the color red?**

**EB: so i figured it'd still work!**

**CG: WELL I GUESS**

**CG: I MEAN SHE DOES LIKE RED AND CHERRY FLAVORED THINGS**

**CG: AND THE RING IS IN HER COLORS**

**CG: THIS MIGHT ACTUALLY WORK**

**EB: see!**

**EB: now go out there and get yourself a matspirite **

**EB: or whatever those things are called**

**- ectoBiologist**** [EB]**** ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist ****[CG]****–-**

Okay, everything was okay. The ring was actually okay. Whatever a diamond looked like, Karkat was sure it was only for appeal anyway. Now comes the actual proposal.

The thought of it made Karkat's stomach drop. He hadn't even thought about the fact he'd have to go up to her and ask her straight up. He didn't even go over what he was going to say.

He glanced at the door to the alchemy room, making sure it was closed and that no one could hear him.

"Uh, hey Terezi, can I ask you something?" Karkat said out loud, trying to rehearse a bit before he actually did it. His words echoed quietly in the room. He faced the wall in front of him and awkwardly got down on one knee, beginning to think this ritual was more ridiculous than romantic. He was still hopeful that Terezi would like it; maybe she'd even call him cute again.

"Will you, um, be my matesprit?" he said, feeling his face getting red. He was proposing to a fucking WALL and he was blushing. How was he ever going to do this to Terezi? He still continued with his act and held the ring up to the wall, the sheer ridiculousness of the act making him laugh. "Oh, fuck," he cursed at himself, his laughter dying. "Better go do this now, while I can" he muttered and left the alchemy room.

Halfway through his trip to Terezi's room Karkat realized how badly he was shaking and how fast his heart was beating. He checked his pockets to make sure the ring was still there –it was- and took a second to calm himself down.

What if she rejects him? How humiliating that would be. He was afraid to even think about it. But as of late, he hadn't been the greatest at conveying his feelings, nor had he ever been. And that Dave guy, she hangs out with him a lot. What if she left him for Dave? Oh please, no. He wanted to be with Terezi more than anything.

Wasn't he supposed to be calming himself down? This definitely was not helping. Karkat took a few deep breaths and continued to walk. He soon reached the main hall where transportalizers for everyone's rooms were located.

He stood in front of Terezi's transportalizer, marked with her sign. Karkat took one more deep breath. Should he do this today? Maybe he should wait a day, and do it tomorrow. His thoughts were interrupted when Terezi transportalized out of her room, right in front of him, with only a few inches of space between the two. Karkat was caught completely off guard and jumped, stumbling backwards. Terezi just laughed. She was so pretty when she laughed. "Karkat, what are you doing here?" she inquired, still laughing. If Karkat's face wasn't already red, it was now. "Can I, uh, talk to you for a minute? In your room?"

Terezi smiled, and he could tell she smelled the red on his face. "Sure," she replied, turning back and transportalizing into her room. Karkat followed, realizing there's no turning back now.

They walked into the room and Terezi turned to face him. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for whatever he was about to say. She crossed her arms and smiled back at him.

"Uh, so I just wanted to ask you something," Karkat started his face growing redder with each word. He hoped his voice didn't sound as shaky as it seemed. Terezi looked at him questioningly and he couldn't even look at her face. "I really like-love- you, and you're really great and clever and pretty-" Great, now he'd become a blubbering mess. "and I just want to be with you so I wanted to ask you," Karkat got down on one knee. Still unable to look at Terezi, he didn't notice the teal pigment of her face or her expression, which was a mix of flattered, embarrassed, and surprised. "Will you be, um, my matesprit?" Karkat held the ring up towards her and looked up at her. Her hands were covering her face, and he wasn't quite sure how she had reacted. She pulled her hands away he saw her beautiful face, her cheeks bright teal. He had never seen her look like this, so caught off guard and different, but he loved it all the same.

Terezi smiled "Karkat, I didn't think you were so cheesy! You're too adorable." Karkat stood up, grabbed her hand, and placed the ring on her finger. She sniffed and smiled at him; she must have noticed the colors and the smell of cherry candy.

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course, you dork."

Karkat pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Terezi did the same, hugging him close. Neither of them wanted to ever let go.

_Yes._

_She said yes._


End file.
